The cutting of various types of planks, such as “OGEE”—type crown mouldings may prove to be particularly tedious. Indeed, since crown mouldings are designed so as to be mounted at the intersection of a wall and a ceiling, they typically require complex cuts in order to produce the desired assembly angle. The difficulty in cutting crown mouldings is due, at least in part, to the fact that the mouldings are typically mounted at a predetermined angle (i.e. 38°, 45° or 52°) between the wall and the ceiling and must also be cut at an angle in order to follow the angle of the wall corners. Other types of mouldings similar to crown mouldings such as mouldings used for moulding cornices or shelves also sometimes require similar cuts.
The difficulties associated with cutting mouldings such as crown mouldings have been addressed in the prior art. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 4,281,827 discloses a mitre box allowing for the cutting of crown mouldings according to the final installation position of the moulding without requiring complex calculations or other complicated procedures. However, this mitre box suffers from numerous drawbacks.
For example, since the moulding is supported between two spaced-apart abutment locations the moulding may be deformed under the action of the saw. This may, in turn, lead to blockage of the saw blade and/or the moulding. It may also potentially lead to injuries. Furthermore, since clamps are required to secure the moulding in place, it becomes impossible to cut a portion of moulding inferior in length to the spacing between the abutment points.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,350,066 discloses a crown moulding supporting structure usable on a sawing table. The supporting structure, however, does not allow for orientation of the moulding according to its final installation position. Furthermore, since the moulding is angularly displaced relative to the blade, the portion of the moulding being cut will either interfere with the support 31, or be cumbersome to use.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,481,320 discloses a crown moulding support usable with a motorised mitre saw. This support structure does not however allow for orientation of the moulding according to its final installation position. Furthermore, the thickness of the moulding will influence the cutting angle.
Accordingly, none of the prior art documents provides a cutting guide that allows for pieces such as a crown moulding to be cut according to their final installation orientation while reducing the risks of errors in the orientation of the cut that, the cutting guide being easy and simple to use without requiring that the piece being cut be mechanically secured and without requiring recourse to complicated calculations or other complex procedures. Furthermore, none of the prior documents allows for the realisation of a cutting guide that is usable with existing meter-type cutting tools, that is safe to use and also reduces the risk or damaging the moulding.